United Investors Life Insurance v. Waddell & Reed Inc.

Defendants Waddell & Reed, Inc., and its various associated entities, (Waddell & *962 Reed) timely appeal from a district court order denying their motion to dismiss Plaintiff United Investors Life Insurance Co.’s (United Investors) state-law securities action and sua sponte remanding the action to state court. Waddell & Reed argues that the district court erred in determining that the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 77p(b), 78bb(f)(l), does not preempt United Investors’s representative class action, and that it should not have remanded the case. Because we lack jurisdiction to review the district court’s remand order, we dismiss the appeal.

I.

The allegations in the complaint provide us with the background of this dispute. Waddell & Reed is a federally registered investment advisor and broker that sells mutual funds, variable annuities, and financial planning services. Waddell & Reed maintained a contractual relationship with United Investors, an Alabama-headquartered life insurance company, whereby Waddell & Reed sold United Investors variable annuities in exchange for a commission. United Investors alleges that its relationship with…